Had not done this show in 20 years. Might be another 20 before I try it again.
Daytona is an interesting, iconic beach town on Florida's east coast.
They love their car racing, big time here,and they love anything to do with the beach.
Unfortunately, art does not seem to fit into one of their abiding loves.
I am a photographer, so much of my report and perspective of the shows I blog about are based on 2-D observations. Believe me, I monitor the 3-Dside as well. After 40 years in the biz, I know a good bag of Kettle Corn from a so-so bag in a spectators hands.
I went to Photo School in Daytona in the early 80-ies. So I did this show then. It was a better juried fine art show then.
Believe me, sales were tough then, but now, they are absolutely decrepit.
In the entire show I saw less than a dozen 2-D parcels go down the aisles. Some of these were painted palm tree husks that were placed on a plywood base with a hanger. That is how bad it was.
The show is held by the riverfront downtown. Runs about three blocks. Artists are back to back with a wide median in between. Plenty of room for storage.
Easy Friday setup. Mellow committee. Nice awards, some free food. They try hard and they have a loyal corps of followers.
This was my first show since the great car crash incident into my booth at Bluffton,SC.
I had a LightDome canopy, courtesy of Lou and Terri, and eight Propanels courtesy of my wife, Ellen.
It all went up with stock in less than three hours. I tore down in one hour.
The potential customers there are thin, very thin.
Not a lot of interest in art or acquiring it.
That said, I barely broke even with expenses, and I was staying with good friends in New Smyrna Beach.
BTW. Friday night, Hallow-ween, NSB put on a great downtown get together with parades and bar-hopping. It was great, it put my Ybor City to shame. No edgy drunks, just lots of people all ages having fun.
I would only recommend this show to someone if they are not coming from afar. Don't expect a lot, and you will go home happy.
BTW. I saw very little 3-D purchases in anybody's hands. The Kettle Corn guy was the king.
I am now parked and waiting to register and setup in Pensacola. Usually this is a very good show for me, and most others.
I will do a blog next week.
Aloha! Nels.
Comments
I also hadn't done this show in about 20 years. My sales were poor but I came out with a small profit after expenses. I make polymer clay jewelry. A jeweler who works with precious metals said she had a good Saturday. Like most shows, some do well and others don't. The advertising for the show was good but the crowds were not there.
Well, sounds like a broken record... I did the show 2 yrs ago and said I would not come back. Show was good quality, setup the same, even a bit windy that weekend too but just no sales,.... and I had glass jewelry-- should have sold better, If I had not been staying with a fellow artist near by, I would not have made expenses. Thanks Nels....
I can't remember when we did this last time, probably 10 years, and for the same reason, wanted to see if it had improved. Nope. We made one sale, to one of the ladies on the committee who begged me to come back the next year. Thanks for reminding me so we can avoid that " art show amnesia " that we all suffer from.
Sorry I didn't see you in Halifax. I did see your good friends from New Smyrna Beach if they are the ones about whom you are speaking.
We also saw all the kettle corn. And when I saw a woman carrying a large dry palm leaf that had blown out of the tree since Saturday was REALLY WINDY, I joked about it to my wife that mother nature was our competition for sales. I even picked up one of these things and am carrying it home to Wyoming.
Hoards of people walking by and plenty of them were interested in our art. But like Nels has already said, the walked out empty handed. One jeweler behind me said she did well and her stuff isn't precious metal or gems. Just glass. Another painter near us said he's not done well for five years, but still keeps coming back.
There's good art in this show. I guess when artists have an off weekend they come to Halifax. We've never been able to do it since it usually conflicts with Pensacola. We, too, are ready for setup in Great Gulf Coast since we're hanging out in the hotel room waiting for our outer perimeter setup time.
Halifax has high dollar awards and plenty of lower dollar awards to make the show profitable if an artists gets picked. We won Award of Excellence, and that's a biggie, just below Best of Show. And our consolation prize for not winning the top award is that we were sitting with the fellow who did win it, photographer Paul Stevens, and his lovely partner, Sue. Here's a photo of our award ribbon (I know, a shameless plug.)